Muscle Memory
by Heavenmetal
Summary: [Tin Man] A brief glimpse into the workings of Glitch. Cain's POV


Disclaimer: I don't own this. Just a non-profit bit of dribble I wrote to explain a confusing, seemingly random scene. Especially since memory is such a running theme in this miniseries.

Muscle Memory

Cain listened to Glitch prattle on as if recalling the things he could remember would somehow bring back the memories he'd lost. Cain knew a lot about loss, more so then he'd like, actually. So he let Glitch ramble while he surveyed the exterior of Azkadelia's castle, looking for a weakness. He only had one gun on him so they weren't much for firepower. Unfortunately, Cain thought grimly, we aren't much for brain-power either.

"I mean, I'm not saying they called me twinkle-toes or anything but I cut quite a rug." Glitch chuckled. Cain let his irritation show as Glitch glanced at him, hoping this man would give his two cents so they could get back inside.

Glitch of course, was blissfully oblivious to Cain's inner thoughts, "Oh! You can make a face Cain but it's true. There was a time when I was a fantastic dancer!" Glitch sighed then, a bit of sadness breaking through his normally cheerful disposition. "She may have taken my brains," Cain sighed in annoyance, "but rhythm that comes directly from your-"

"Do you have any bright ideas how to get in there?" Cain interrupted, his patience stretched to its limits. Cain needed something practical, something useful, damn it. At the very least, he hoped he got Glitch back to the matter at hand.

Glitch looked over his shoulder at Cain, the nostalgic smile gone from his face. Replacing it was such an outpouring of sadness from his eyes that Cain could practically read the man's thoughts; _if I had my whole brain, I would_. Glitch looked away and Cain started to feel that maybe he had been too harsh.

Glitch spoke in more somber tones. "I mean, I don't mind taxing my half a brain for D.G. but just once I wish that someone would acknowledge me for my rhythm. Which, as I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted, comes directly from the soul."

Cain let the gears in his head start turning. If he wanted practical he would have to use what he had and Glitch obviously wanted to feel useful for something other than the brain he no longer had.

"Sometimes, Cain, you make me feel just like those ladies at the dance did, like I blend right into the wallpaper. "

Cain watched as some guards left for patrol leaving only a handful behind… few enough for two men to take in a fair fight. They could take their uniforms and just waltz right in, blend in with the wallpaper.

Cain smiled at Glitch. "That's a good idea."

Glitch turned to see the guards had dwindled in number and donned a half-nervous smile. "You want to dance?"

Cain stood. "I'll lead. You follow. "

Cain and Glitch made their way closer to the guards as quietly as possible. Cain motioned for Glitch to wait as he approached the four guards. Cain figured he could surprise these men enough to take them out. He'd had worse odds before and besides, he had Glitch in reserve. That thought didn't reassure him as much as it should have but hopefully, the man knew enough to jump in and help if it looked like Cain was going down for the count.

As Cain stepped closer, the long-coats were laughing about a small captured creature they had in a box. Cain stood on the edge of their grouping and, thankfully, they still hadn't noticed him. Glancing towards the box he saw that inside was a fairy, injured too if the blood was an indicator. The frightened thing was turning feral; trying to bite at the little twig the guard poked her with.

"Fiery, aren't they?" One guard commented.

Another added, "Never seen one that large."

The fairy tries to stand but the guard pokes her and she falls back down, clutching her stomach in pain. The guards chuckle, finding her torture amusing. Showtime, Cain thought as he forced a smile and chuckled along with the long-coats. At the sound of his laughter the guards finally, notice his presence.

The guard to his right, the one holding the box, looks at him in confusion for a second. Cain acts quickly, before the long-coat can match the face of this chuckling man with the one on the wanted posters. He lands a left cross to the startled guard, putting all his strength into it to make sure the man stays down. He notices the box fall to the ground along with the long-coat and the fairy flying away as fast as her little wings can take her.

While Cain tried to regain his balance, grunts of pain catch his notice and he quickly assesses the scene. Glitch had jumped into the fight and already two long-coats were on the ground. Cain is about to rush forward to help Glitch but stops himself in astonishment as Glitch delivers a roundhouse kick to one long-coat's face then, gracefully, turning and dropping low to sweep the legs out from under him, following up with a heel strike to the fallen man's head.

"Ooh!" The exclamation leaves him without his notice. Cain is pleasantly surprised to see Glitch handling himself so well. Glitch moves efficiently, quickly taking his opponent down and not wasting more energy than necessary, each step flowing gracefully into the next. But the thing that Cain finds most unsettling is that Glitch isn't thinking about it. He's just reacting. The man doesn't know where he is half the time and yet he can fight... and with deadly precision too.

Cain decides to stand back and watch the show as the two guards Glitch had attacked at first finally managed to pick themselves off of the ground and rush him. His face completely calm, Glitch easily dodges back avoiding a sloppy punch, ducking to avoid a second blow and as he stands up, he grabs the long-coat's still outstretched arm, not even looking at the other guard who he kicks in the face. Cain was in awe as Glitch then used the arm he was holding and the long-coat's own momentum to flip him to the ground.

Cain suddenly remembers something from when he was in training, when he asked his Sergeant why they had to run the same drills repeatedly. The answer is Muscle Memory. It's a physiological response. If you perform the same actions over and over again, you eventually can do things without really having to think about it. The body reacts on its own leaving you free to think clearly, and a cop has to think clearly at all times. That had to be what Glitch was doing now. Cain suppresses a shudder. Who were you before they cut out your brain?

A look more of fierce determination and anger than of concentration settled on Glitch's features as he crouched into stance, awaiting the last standing guard to come at him. He straightened at the last second to block a punch and deliver a right of his own. He blocked another punch and strikes his opponent in the ribs following with a right hook. The long-coat was doubled over in pain, a mimicry of the fairy this man helped torture. Cain found that almost poetic but Glitch wastes no time, his tattered coat tails swirl behind him as he finishes the guard with a tornado round kick.

Cain can do nothing but stare in stunned silence as Glitch stands over his fallen foes, smiling as he finishes his dance and nodding in approval at his work.

The sound of men marching catches Cain's attention. Glitch notices something and a look akin to panic crosses his features. It's the patrol coming back, Cain realizes just as Glitch pushes him, hiding them both behind a hill. Cain stays silent but it has less to do with the fear of being discovered than his confusion about the man beside him. At least he's on our side, Cain thinks.

When the sounds of the patrol fade away, Cain dares to break the silence "You're a deep well Glitch"

Glitch smiles innocently, the fighter disappearing into the simple, child-like person that Cain had first met. "It's all about rhythm."


End file.
